King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Standard Development
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Statistics from Lichess
1,582,091 games: White 51.8% / Draw 5.3% / Black 42.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,384,6291.4M | ||
| 66,49066K | ||
| 35,51236K | ||
| 26,01226K | ||
| 19,48519K | ||
| 17,88418K | ||
| 8,5638,563 | ||
| 5,6905,690 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.51 White is slightly better
Best play: 5... O-O 6. Be3 Na6 7. Nf3 e5 8. O-O Qe7 9. d5 Ng4 10. Bg5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 55% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 23K | |
| 1400–1799 | 246K | |
| 1800–2199 | 941K | |
| 2200 and up | 460K | |
| Masters, over the board | 17K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Firouzja, A.
- Erigaisi, A. – Abdusattorov, N.
- Topalov, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Gelfand, B. – Nakamura, H.
- So, W. – Caruana, F.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Standard Development (ECO E73, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 (5 moves).
In 1,582,091 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.8%, Black 42.9% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…O-O, in 88% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation and King's Indian Defense: Semi-Averbakh System. In all, 13 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
The King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Standard Development has gained ground since 2016: 0.063% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.05% (its peak: 0.077% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.05% | 17,720 |
| 2017 | 0.063% | 34,554 |
| 2018 | 0.077% | 60,382 |
| 2019 | 0.068% | 84,224 |
| 2020 | 0.066% | 192,174 |
| 2021 | 0.056% | 217,609 |
| 2022 | 0.06% | 224,260 |
| 2023 | 0.06% | 223,858 |
| 2024 | 0.058% | 208,716 |
| 2025 | 0.063% | 217,692 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.068% | 74,121 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (3)
All 13 named lines that continue from here
- E73 King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation 6 moves
- E77 King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack 6 moves
- E73 King's Indian Defense: Semi-Averbakh System 6 moves
- E74 Benoni Defense 6 moves
- E73 Flexible Defense 6 moves
- E73 Geller Defense 6 moves
- E73 Modern Defense 6 moves
- E73 Nc6 Defense 6 moves
- E73 Spanish Defense 6 moves
- E74 Advance Variation 7 moves
- E74 Exchange Variation 7 moves
- E73 Burgess Line 7 moves
- E75 King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Main Line 7 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Standard Development (E73)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-indian-defense-normal-variation-standard-development